Homecoming Draws ‘Royalty’

48th Annual Stanley Event Features 2014 Miss Virginia

Young children wait for candy to be tossed from the floats in Saturday’s annual Homecoming parade in Stanley. (Photos by Jason Lenhart)

Courtney Garrett, the newly crowned 2014 Miss Virginia, waves during Saturday’s Homecoming parade in Stanley. Garrett, who hails from the small town of Pamplin south of Lynchburg, will represent Virginia during the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., in September.

Courtney Garrett, 2014 Miss Virginia, waves Saturday during Stanley’s annual parade, just one part of the town’s 48th Homecoming. The event began in the 1960s as a way to encourage former residents to return to the small Page County town. Over the years, it’s become a tradition for that year’s Miss Virginia to make an appearance in the parade.

The annual Homecoming parade makes its way through Stanley on Saturday as onlookers gather candy tossed from floats.

STANLEY — Courtney Garrett felt right at home in Stanley on Saturday as she made her first official public appearance since being crowned Miss Virginia 2014 on June 28.